d e s t i n y
by Starfire1407
Summary: "You changed my life and I changed yours, because when we met sparks flew, flowers bloomed, love blossomed. Forget the IOUs; we were destined to be together, forever and always." Ikarishipping/ShinHika.
1. Frozen Solid and Melted Sticky

**Summary: "You changed my life and I changed yours, because when we met sparks flew, flowers bloomed, love blossomed. Forget the IOUs; we were destined to be together, forever and always."**

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**Shameless promotion: For those of you who know my first Ikarishipping one-shot, **_**'20 Hours'**_**, I edited *coughchangedalotcough* it a while back. So if you're interested, go ahead. Even if you don't know about it, if you like, please check it out. Thanks.**

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**Disclaimer: Do not own the franchise. Will never own the franchise. So let's get this show on the road already, 'kay? Only the plot is mine, but that's a minor and obvious detail.**

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**(Belated now) Happy Birthday, _Ju5t An0th3r H3d6h06~!_**

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_**~ d◦e◦s◦t◦i◦n◦y ~**_

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_**~ Prologue: Frozen Solid and Melted Sticky ~**_

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It was that heart-stopping moment as the two pokémon on the battle-field stood staring in opposite directions, and straight into the opponent's trainer's eyes.

For a second there, no one knew the outcome of the match. It was like time had frozen and had made still everything in its wake.

Suddenly one of the pokémon's knees gave out and it shuddered before falling onto the sand with a loud thud.

No one said a word.

Paul stared in disbelief at his Torterra lying on the sand like that, soundly beaten. He couldn't believe his eyes as he walked up to his fallen pokémon and knelt down beside it. He placed a hand gently on his starter's shell, trying to convince himself of the facts.

He had been defeated by this old man standing in front of him.

That same old perverted geezer who had cackled with laughter at his challenge and called him 'Payton'.

_Alder._

He felt a hand touch his shoulder tentatively but didn't bother to shrug it off. He was too shocked to even respond.

He had thought he was ready. And he had thought it would have been a piece of cake to beat the brawny oaf in front of him to prove just that.

How could he even _think_ of beating _Cynthia_ if he couldn't beat this pathetic old-timer?

He tensed as the hand now gripped his shoulder lightly, as if to reassure him, to support him, to make him feel better. It was then that he realized that he had been shaking.

"It was a good battle. You almost beat him, you know. You've grown so strong over these years; your progress has been tremendous. Alder is indeed a difficult opponent, but you handled this splendidly. Not many reach where you have reached, and certainly not this well."

Paul slowly turned back to look at the hand's face and his black eyes met gray ones. Distant-looking, yet filled with warmth.

He felt ashamed.

He felt humiliated.

Most of all, he felt disappointed.

He looked away from Cynthia's eyes and trained his own onto Alder, who was lovingly hugging his Vanilluxe, which ended up freezing part of his body. Paul would have cracked a smile at the sight of the idiot flailing around, trying to melt the ice from his arms, but he just wasn't up for it this time.

"Paul?" He turned back to look at Cynthia, who was standing there with a sympathetic smile, her Castelia cone melting in her hand. But even that sight couldn't make him feel better.

He felt absolutely _devastated._

"You do realize that you lost by only a small margin, right? And that you _were_ at a _really_ bad type-disadvantage? And-" She got cut off by a booming laughter and they both turned around to look at the cause.

Alder stood there, smiling goofily at them both, while rubbing his nose in embarrassment.

"That was quite a battle, my boy. Man, you got me so pumped up! I swear I've never felt _this_ re-energized by a battle before. Too bad you're not from here, kiddo. But I guess Sinnoh's taught you well, eh, Payton?" he bellowed out humorously, laughing as he tousled up an irritated Paul's hair who looked like he was about to snap.

"Alder, I think you're pushing it-" Cynthia tried to warn him but was cut off yet again as Paul stepped away from Alder, before returning his pokémon to its pokéball, and turned to face both of them fully. He took in a deep breath and bowed low in respect.

"Thank you for the battle, Alder. I have learnt a lot from this. And thank you for the invitation, Cynthia. My experiences from here will help me a lot in the future." He straightened up and smartly turned on his heel, and left the beach before either one could utter a word.

Silence enveloped the two left and the only sound that remained was of the waves crashing on the sand.

"Paul…" Cynthia frowned as she looked on, slightly worried as he walked further and further away from them.

"I wouldn't really worry about him now, Cynthia," Alder suddenly spoke up, in an uncharacteristically serious voice. "I think he just needs some time to himself. But I must say," He looked up at a flock of swanna flying into the horizon, "the lad really is something, you know. I wouldn't be surprised if he's somewhere in the top league within the next five years. Actually make that next year. He's a fine battler, the kid is."

Cynthia kept quiet for a while, letting his words sink in and suddenly smiled.

"Yes, he _has_ grown a _lot_ from his rookie days," she agreed, remembering how the younger Paul was, aggressive yet stoic.

"And he _has_ changed a lot," she added, seeing the purple dot being swallowed up by the automatic doors of the Pokémon Center, her smile widening.

"He has great potential, no doubt," Alder piped up, his eyes now looking directly at her.

"Yes, he is a force to be reckoned with. And his goal is much clearer to him now than was in the past. You know what?" She turned to face him, brushing away her hair from her face, a huge grin plastered on her face, "I can't wait for him to challenge me."

Alder looked at her confusedly, evidently not getting what she really meant.

She turned back to look at the setting sun and smiled, not caring that her hair was being blown in every direction possible by the wind. She stood there, slightly swaying with the breeze, her hands behind her back as she took in the scene with content. She closed her eyes.

"It will be a different story from our previous battle where you randomly challenged me out of the blue, Paul. This time you are stronger than ever and you know where you stand. This time will be the real challenge." She smiled.

She opened her eyes and turned back to face Alder who had an 'I-lost-you-a-long-time-back' look on his face.

"It's going to be so much fun!" She beamed at him.

Alder smiled.

"Well then, let's get you another ice-cream, shall we? I don't think you'll be up for licking your arm now, would you?"

"Oh, you'd be surprised."

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**- This used to be a one-shot, but I thought expanding this would be fun.**

**- Updates will be alternate weeks or monthly, depending on the response to this. **

**- If there are any questions, please leave a review and I will reply back to you.**

**So with that said, please review with your opinions. Favorites and follows are fine too, but it would mean a lot to me if you could also spend a few more seconds and leave a review too. **

**On a more personal note, I am also doing this thing with a schedule and stuff to boost my confidence. Over time, I have been losing my momentum and sometimes I find myself unable to publish/update. I have so many more stories which I can publish, some from way before too, but my lack of self-confidence makes me hesitant and unable to write. I began writing the basic premise of this story more than three years ago and completely revamped it three months ago but I could never get myself to publish it. I don't want to quit, I want to feel good about myself and my writing, so I gave myself this challenge. I hope you will all support me. It would mean the world to me, and I promise you, I won't disappoint.**

**Thanks for your time and see you next update! I needta go catch up on the sleep I lost out on this month. Adieu~**


	2. Ripples in the Sand

**Summary: "You changed my life and I changed yours, because when we met sparks flew, flowers bloomed, love blossomed. Forget the IOUs; we were destined to be together, forever and always."**

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**Thanks to **_**Ju5t An0th3r H3d63h06,**_** an anonymous reviewer, **_**Swimmer Pichu, Keiian, **__**malory79080 **_**and**_** reppad98**_** for reviewing. You all are awesomesauce people. *throws cookies and noms half of them***

**Also, thank you for the follows and favorites. *showers the rest with cookie crumbs* **

**I hope you all find this chapter good.**

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**_~ d◦e◦s◦t◦i◦n◦y ~_**

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_**~ Chapter 1: Ripples in the Sand ~**_

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A familiar musical tune played out and with a final _'ding!_' his pokémon were ready to go.

Nurse Joy beamed at a worn-out Paul as she handed him his pokéballs and wished him a good day. Paul just nodded at her in acknowledgement and walked out of the Center with his hands stuffed deep into his pockets.

The minute he walked out, he was greeted by a strong breeze that whipped his hair across the face _hard_, not helping his mood at all. He scowled and took quick steps towards—

Nowhere really.

He didn't know where he was going, and he wasn't really sure if he wanted to know.

He walked on, replaying the events from a few hours back and pondered.

He couldn't figure out where he had gone wrong. He had always been the tough trainer, even being accused of pushing his pokémon to the limit, which wasn't true by the way. He may look cruel, but the thing that he abused his pokémon was just a sick rumor, a misunderstanding even.

Come on now, he wasn't _inhuman_. That was just stupid.

He may not cuddle with his pokémon throughout the day, but he still cared about them. _Not that anyone's opinion mattered._

He reached the beach and the small harbor where ferries were docked and dispatched from. He really had had no idea of where he had been heading. Cynthia and Alder had already left, which he wasn't really surprised to note.

Alder probably scored a date with her after groveling.

Or bribing.

Whichever.

He sighed and shook his head wearily. _That man really was an idiot._

Well, at least he wouldn't have to see those annoying sympathetic faces. He _hated_ being pitied upon. Utterly shameful and degrading it was, in his opinion.

He looked up at the night sky, snorting as he recalled what Nurse Joy said earlier. _It was hardly day, and neither was there anything good about it._ He sighed sadly, his mind going back to the events which he didn't want to think of.

He dug his hands- balled-up fists now- even deeper in his pockets and walked along the shoreline, the breeze making his hair fly and the crashing waves giving him something else to concentrate on.

He took a detour and ended up at the gate which led to Route 16. He was just standing there, staring out into space, in the midst of a bustling crowd. None of it seemed to affect him at this point of time as his mind seemed oddly detached from his body. It seemed like he was a passenger in his own body.

He walked past people and pokémon like a zombie, ignoring the worried and quizzical looks from the onlookers, the thoughts in his head crushing him into powder.

Fine powder.

Fine textured sand.

Sand on which his pokémon had been defeated.

He scrunched up his nose. Ugh, he kept back coming to the same thing, no matter how much he tried to avoid it.

It was all _his_ fault.

He _knew_ it was all his fault.

He should never have challenged the guy.

He should have _known_ his pokémon couldn't stand a chance in front of champions.

He should have known _he_ couldn't stand a chance in front of them.

Now feeling even worse than before, he picked up the pace and finally ended up at the gates of Marvelous Bridge.

He didn't think and just kept moving forward aimlessly. After all, what _could_ really happen?

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The sea actually looked beautiful from the bridge but he wasn't in the mood for enjoying it nor was he in the mood for bad puns. He stood there, leaning slightly, with his elbows supporting his weight on the railings. His hair was being whipped across his face in every direction possible, and after a few vain efforts, he gave up, not caring anymore.

_Gave up._

At that very moment, those words hit him like a pile of bricks, crushing his throat as his heart beat accelerated, the rush of sorrow and guilt overwhelming him, attacking him together all of a sudden. He tried breathing slowly and deeply to steady himself, and then started walking up and down the breadth of the bridge in a vain effort to pull himself back together.

What if he couldn't beat Cynthia? Would it even be wise to challenge her after such a big upset? After all, he had spoken such big words back in Sinnoh; it all seemed so _foolish_ now.

What if he lost even more badly?

Would his pride be able to take any more?

Would _he_ be able to take any more?

He stood there, eyes wide and mouth gaping, staring at his feet, and ran his fingers through his sweat-damp hair. The huge wave of depression had left him vulnerable and for perhaps the first time, in quite a long while, he was _scared._

But he didn't really have to do anything since he seemed to come back to his senses almost immediately when he was almost toppled over by someone. He managed to keep his balance; however the person who bumped into him was not so fortunate.

The girl on the ground moaned loudly as she noticed all her bags lying scattered around the area. She jerked her head upwards to look at him, her mouth trembling, her azure orbs seething with anger. She looked at him expectantly for a fraction of a second before getting up by herself.

"Watch where you're going!" she yelled at him, dusting her skirt, before putting her hands on her hips.

He ignored her and went back to staring out at the sea, hoping that it would at least soothe him a little.

"Why you little-" she broke off as she checked the time on her pokétch. "Oh no, I'll be late if I don't hurry!" She quickly scrambled up her bags and ran off in the opposite direction, her midnight blue hair flying with the wind.

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He had paid no attention to any of that and had continued looking out at the now-barely visible horizon, his hair covering his face like a screen.

That little disturbance had made him calm down a little and he was relieved. The fact that it was so uncharacteristic to feel something so strongly like this was so disconcerting, he felt faintly disgusted at himself.

Since when did he feel so low about losing?

Paul had no answer to that.

He stared down at the rushing waves below, feeling oddly soothed, as he slowly started to forget about his surroundings. The water looked so good and inviting, it was so _tempting_, but he pushed himself off the railing and with a swish of his head, quickly turned away.

He wasn't _stupid_.

He sighed and began trudging along the rest of the length of the Marvelous Bridge, hands in pockets as always, and himself deep in thought.

He really needed to get it all together. And _fast_.

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At the end of the bridge, he finally decided to hail a taxi. Maybe it would serve as a better means of transport than his own legs since then he wouldn't have to blindly follow a random path.

He would now have a dictated path.

_As if._ He snorted at his own reasoning.

A cab slowed down and came to a halt in front of him and as the driver's window rolled down, he was met by a strange sight.

To say that even Paul wasn't taken aback by it would be an understatement; in fact, he was himself revaluating his thinking.

"Yo, man! 'Sup?" The man gave him a bright lopsided grin and a thumbs-up, and lowered his sunglasses, which wasn't even the weirdest part of him.

_Who the hell even wears sunglasses at this time?_

His brightly decked attire made Paul's eyes bleed, but he kept up a stony face.

"Why mooning around here when the right place for partying is just around the corner?" Paul ignored him and yanked open the back door. He then lumped himself into it and slammed it shut.

"Well, well, girlfriend dumped'cha, huh? Wanna find a bar and get drunk? Trust me, it'll help you feel awesome," he heckled, lolling his head around while his eyes trailed Paul's movements into the cab.

"Go." He said simply, already making himself comfortable in the spacious backseat, an elbow propped up against the window, the wrist in turn supporting his chin as he looked out of the window. He evidently didn't plan to explain more so the confused driver turned on his seat and looked at him, hands on the top of the back of his own seat and face slightly concealed by it. His eyes went wide with innocent curiosity and Paul felt irritated by his questioning stare. He scowled.

"Where to, sonny?" The driver finally asked, understanding that he had to specify his demands with the psycho in his car. He then leant forward, dangerous close to Paul, as if trying to stare into his soul, wearing a comical, almost creepy grin as he hiccupped.

The sudden and strong whiff of sherry caught Paul unaware and he suddenly felt sick.

"Anywhere." And this time, nothing more could really be wrenched out from his voice box. The wave of nausea was unbecoming, yet he willed himself to ignore it with all his might and stared down the driver calmly.

"Haha, now you surely can't mean that! There are _tons_ of places to go around in Unova, but you can't be _that_ indecisive!" The guy bellowed good-naturedly, giving Paul a fantastic view of his pearly whites.

_More like murky yellows._

Monsieur Driver would have even thumped his back a couple of times, if his stubby and thick arms could squeeze in and reach him. Paul shuddered at the thought. He pressed his left thumb to his temple, closing his eyes and tracing out circles to alleviate some of the pain which had suddenly built up.

"Just drive." He managed to utter and went back to rubbing his temple. The driver shrugged and turned back on his seat, bouncing a couple of times and making the contraption rattle, and faced the steering wheel. The sudden shout of _'Yosh! Now let's get this show on the road! YEAH!_' and the subsequent slaps on his thighs heard didn't scare Paul in the least.

Nope, not at all.

It _terrified_ him.

But Paul was Paul and being composed was important at all times.

It was important if he wanted to be a well-respected Trainer one day.

Heck, even _Champion_.

He hit his forehead repeatedly with his fist, albeit gently, trying to get rid of the pounding which had coincidently increased with his most recent thought. And the fact that the stupid driver's car wasn't starting made problems worse, making him claw at his forehead now.

The engine's wheezing _irritated_ him.

Suddenly, he shot open his eyes and sat up straight. He wrenched open the door and jumped out, landing quite gracefully on his feet for someone feeling so uncoordinated.

He ignored the frantic yells of, _'Hey, where do you think you are going? Stop!'_ and ambled aimlessly along Route 15, muttering incoherent profanities under his breath while trying to make his respiratory system feel better.

This was _just_ not his day- night.

Whatever.

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Before long, he had reached Nimbasa City and he stood there in the brightness of it all, eyes burning. After the eerie quietness and darkness of Route 15, Nimbasa's merry lights and sounds made him cringe.

It was as if the world was gaining happiness from his misery.

He scowled and walked past the lovely sights and happy people, not giving a second glance to anything, not even the lovely Ferris Wheel which was known to make heads turn a second, a third, a fourth time in the least.

No longer being able to _bear_ the radiating happiness, he made his way out of the city as soon as he could. He just couldn't take it today.

Man, was he being moldy.

He glared his way out of Join Avenue as well because he couldn't stand pathetic people asking him to buy stuff or help with their business.

_Did he look like a Good Samaritan or something?_

And soon enough, he found himself in the bustling crowds of Castelia City.

Man, he had travelled _far_.

Not that distances like these were anything great for him. He was a Pokémon Trainer, not some pansy.

The sea of people slowly pushed him towards the other side of the city, and he found himself drifting towards the harbor along with the flow of the crowd.

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Paul stood there staring at the place with empty eyes, no coherent thoughts forming in his head any longer.

Nothing, whatsoever.

It had been a while since he felt _this_ miserable.

On a sudden impulse, he reached the port and got himself a ticket for a random ferry. He slowly walked up the gangplank, wondering what he was _doing_.

This wasn't _like _him.

But it didn't matter where he was headed because this time he knew where he _wanted_ to go…

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_"All aboard!"_

The anchor was being lifted and the horn was blown, signaling departure.

"Almost… almost… almost…" panted a blunette as she ran as fast as her legs could manage, towards the ferry which was about to leave. She ran up the gangplank and collapsed onto the deck, sighing in relief.

At that very moment, the gangplank was taken up and the ship set sail, the deck already starting its rhythmic swaying.

"M-made it," she croaked to herself, looking completely busted. But then she suddenly stood up and took up a victory stance, grinned widely, as she pulled herself together and hurried away, searching for her cabin.

It was enough to weird anyone out, this being proved by the astonished and incredulous looks she got from people, but luckily no one she knew was there to witness her _'winning'_ moment.

And that's all she cared about.

Maybe not even that.

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He reached his cabin and flopped down on one of the bunks. In normal circumstances, he would be annoyed with the fact that he would have to share it with someone else, scratch that, why would he be on a measly ferry in the first place? But right now, he just couldn't give a damn.

He lay back and stared at the ceiling as unwanted thoughts began invading his mind.

Was he doing the right thing?

He didn't know.

Wasn't this equivalent to running away?

Probably.

But wasn't running away for cowards?

Paul wasn't a coward.

_But, was he?_

He growled in frustration and punched his pillow. He didn't know what he was doing any more and it made him feel pathetic. He didn't like this feeling. It was alien to him. And knowing that made him angrier.

He buried his face into the same pillow and turned his body to face the wall, advertently curling up partially into a ball.

He would sleep over it tonight and feel better tomorrow, he decided. He was just overreacting and a little time off was probably just what he needed.

He just had to calm down and train harder, that's all.

Yeah.

His eyes began drooping and after all that had happened today, for that fleeting moment, he finally felt at peace.

And then the door crashed open revealing a panting figure, scaring the daylights out of him.

Not that he would ever admit it.

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She ran along the passage looking for her cabin. _I knew I shouldn't have stopped at that last store, but that dress was so cute! Anyway, I made it, didn't I? Now just to find the stupid cabin…_

Why was she running about when she had already boarded the ferry?

Well, that was a question that was never likely to be answered logically.

"F-f-f-finally," she stammered as she found her cabin. She swung open the door with unnecessary force and it crashed open, startling the person already inside, who sat up suddenly in shock, the poor soul.

"S-sorry 'bout that," she stuttered, managing a weak smile, before recognizing the person in front of her.

"_You!"_ she shrieked loudly, pointing a shaking finger at him, and for a second there, it looked like she was going to pounce on him but she grinned widely and sat down on her bunk hard, making her bounce a little, her bags scattered messily all around her.

"Hi there, I'm Dawn! And it's perfectly okay about before, it was just that I wanted to get to a sale my friend May told me about," she said perkily, her eyes fixed onto him, unwavering, filled with an excitement quite foreign to him.

Now, if Paul wasn't so stony, plus wrapped up in his own depressing matters, his jaw would drop. Like, literally, right to the floor. He was surprised to see her mood change in a flash, but didn't show it. He just glared at Dawn, who was unfazed by the murderous look coming her way.

"You know May? May Maple? Well, she lives in Petalburg City in Hoenn and I was there visiting her and another friend of mine. He's got such unusual hair, just like you, mister, like I'm one to talk. Anyway, its green and he's so cute because he's secretly crushing on her. See this picture of them? They'd make _such_ a bee-_yoo_-tiful couple! Don't you think so too? Oh, and his name is Drew Hayden, silly me, I didn't even say his name-"

He clicked his tongue in disapproval and annoyance, especially at the picture being pushed into his face, but even that didn't affect the blabbermouth who continued rambling like there was no tomorrow.

"Arceus, I'm so absent-minded, aren't I? So, as I was saying, I was visiting them there before I was to go back home. I live in Twinleaf Town in Sinnoh with my mother, you see. Anyway, so she told me about this region's musicals through a mutual friend of ours, he such an awesome guy, although he's as stupid as a rock, that dummy. And I was also here for Elesa's fashion show. She's so _gorgeous_! You should've _seen_ her! Though you'd probably get a nosebleed, haha-"

Paul had, by then, tuned out her mindless ranting and tried to focus on thinking about what he should do now and what excuse he should give to Cynthia. He wasn't _supposed_ to disappear suddenly now, was he? No, he was supposed to be there for some stupid meet-and-greet tomorrow, the whole reason why he'd been dragged to this stupid region. He grimaced.

Her monologue was now becoming increasingly random and annoying, but it was doing a good job of distracting him from what his mind was wandering to from time to time.

Too bad he couldn't think of anything at all.

* * *

"…and then we…" she muttered in her sleep, as Paul finally gave up.

"Stupid girl," he muttered as he shuffled out of the cabin, slamming the door behind him hard.

Even though the girl's incessant yammering had proved helpful for most of it, he felt the anger and bitterness clawing him once again the minute he walked onto the deck.

Well, his plan of 'sleep-over-it' had now failed miserably, thanks to a _certain someone_ but he dismissed it from his mind.

It wasn't meant to work if it didn't.

He smacked his forehead. Since when did he think of things like that?

That's it; he was completely messed up now.

Great.

Just great.

Absolutely _fantastic_.

Shaking his head, he went towards the railings and rested his elbows on it, staring straight ahead.

It was like staring into space was the only possible thing for him to do, for the time being.

* * *

The blunette stirred when the door slammed. She looked around sleepily for her 'roomie' but couldn't find him anywhere. _Darn, just when she wanted to tell him all about the time when- never mind that now._

She fixed her appearance in the nearby mirror, admiring her reflection for a few seconds before walking out, holding down her pink miniskirt with one hand. But she forgot all about her beanie, which got blown off by one of the stronger winds.

"Dang it," she muttered, as she hurried after it.

She ran behind it as fast as she could. Eventually the wind died down and she spotted her beanie lying some distance away on the deck, a little near the railings.

She heaved a sigh of relief before bending down to pick it up.

"Thank goodness it didn't fly off. I would have been so miserable without it! It just wouldn't feel right any more, without it I'd feel as if-"

But she broke off when she noticed someone standing nearby, looking into the deep water, his face blocked from view because of his slightly long and shaggy hair. She couldn't really make out the color from where she was standing since it was dark now, but that didn't matter. She giggled softly because of the way he was probably staring at the water below and swaying with the breeze.

The wind started blowing again and she groaned as she tried to keep her hair, her beanie and her skirt in check, all at the same time. She looked around to find her way back to the cabin. She had had enough of this.

And then, suddenly, her eyes widened.

_"NO!"_

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**Hidden **_**(notreally)**_** reference for those of you who know my previous stories (Mari, you're bound to get it). And Harley's cookies to anyone who can't figure it out. **_***evil laugh***_

**Reviews might make me reconsider though. **_***shotSHOT***_

**Haha, I hope you enjoyed this chapter~! I hope to see you on the 21st~!**

**Ja ne~**

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**Dated: 7th September'13**


	3. Stupid, Weak Adrenaline

**Summary: "You changed my life and I changed yours, because when we met sparks flew, flowers bloomed, love blossomed. Forget the IOUs; we were destined to be together, forever and always."**

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**Much thanks to **_**reppad98, malory79080,**__**GuiltyCrown09, pokegirl185**_** and **_**imouto marichan**_** for reviewing. I love you all and I hope you all like this chapter.**

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**Sorry in advance if the theme of _this_ chapter isn't to your taste, but it is an important part of the plot since this was the basic inspiration for it all.**

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**_~ d◦e◦s◦t◦i◦n◦y ~_**

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_**~ Chapter 2: Stupid, Weak Adrenaline ~**_

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He stared below into the deep water, the gentle ripples, and the darkness of it all. It began to lull his mind, it felt soothing, and he began to feel more and more drawn towards it.

Without warning, his mind snapped and he had this sudden urge to plunge himself into the icy depths of the ocean, never to see again, never to breathe again, never to feel again.

He leant a bit too far and almost toppled over the low railing. He heard a muffled shout behind him, but didn't react to it. He had already closed his eyes.

It was as if he had already welcomed the feeling of oblivion.

But instead of feeling the cold water hit him, he felt a tug on his shirt. He was being pulled back, away from the railings by someone.

Thin, warm arms curled around his stomach and held on tightly, as if their life depended on it.

_Oh, how ironic._

He opened his eyes in shock when he felt something tremble. It was those arms. Somebody had held onto him and had invariably _saved_ him.

Suddenly he realized what was about to happen and felt sick.

"Don't you dare! I won't let you take your life! Please, please, _please_ get a hold of yourself, _I beg you!_" The person furiously sobbed into his back, hooking their arms even tighter around him.

At hearing that, he turned sharply to face the speaker, eyes filled with confusion and anger. He couldn't comprehend what was going on. It was like his common sense had been turned off.

"Get off of me!" He barked suddenly and prized off the arms and threw them away from him, turning his whole body to face the imbecile who dared to utter such nonsense.

Dawn stood there in shock, rubbing her arms, tears still flowing from her blue eyes. Paul looked surprised for a second and then became even angrier at the sight.

"Why are _you_ here? What the hell do you think you are doing? Why can't you mind your _own_ business?" Paul roared, with the pitch becoming higher and higher after each question. He was livid and blinded by rage.

Dawn stood her ground, trembling, yet she squarely looked back into his eyes. The black eyes were angry as never before, but they were also filled with shock, fear, confusion and panic.

Her eyes softened for a moment and then went back to enraged as she held the stare.

"You think I was going to let you jump? You _fool!_" Dawn screamed at him, but didn't move from her place. The sight of his uncontrolled rage made her legs paralyzed with fear, yet she didn't let it get to her and stood her ground.

Her fury was stronger than any fear she could feel.

"You don't know me. So why don't you just mind your own business and get lost?" Paul sneered. He wasn't thinking straight. A part of him knew that he should be thankful, and that this was wrong, but his rage completely took over him and there was nothing he could do about it.

"So what if I don't know you? You think I would stand there and do _nothing?_ _Are you actually that stupid?_" Dawn's legs were finally able to move and she walked up to him till she was just inches away from him, her glare matching his own, and her arms folded tightly across her chest, hiding the little tremble.

"You have no right to tell me what to do, you little-" He started snarkily, but was unceremoniously cut off by the girl.

"_And __**you**__ have no right to be doing what you were going to do!_"Dawn's scream echoed even over the crashing waves and she angrily punctuated each word with a jab to his chest with her forefinger.

"_You don't know __**anything!**_" Paul had then lost it. He didn't even recognize his own voice which came out as half a scream. Dawn's eyes widened in surprise and she began to stutter, but no words came out. Paul pushed her away roughly and walked away.

At that, she finally found her voice again.

"So this is what you do? Walk away? That's all you know how to do? _Walk away?_"

Paul ignored her screams and walked even further away. He had a lot of things he could yell back, but he didn't want to do something he'd regret.

No wonder he was told he couldn't keep his emotions in check.

He was _pathetic._

* * *

By the time he reached the other end of the deck, the horn blew and the anchor was lowered. They were docking in at Virbank City for additional supplies before the long, _long_ journey they had ahead of them.

Thankfully, all the loud noise from the waves and the grinding of the engines would have muffled their—uh, _quarrel_. Paul coughed at that in embarrassment.

He disembarked before any of the sailors could notice him and began his aimless walking yet again. The breeze now wasn't as rough as it had been and it actually felt good. He sighed in content.

And then, he stopped in his tracks, his eyes widening in sudden understanding.

He didn't feel 'angst-y' anymore.

He wasn't angry either.

He had calmed down.

He looked as his hands in amazement. They no longer trembled, and his fists had unraveled too, showing the slightly reddish nail marks from when he had dug them deep into his skin and even drawn a little blood.

It must have been when he blew his top and yelled at the girl.

His eyes widened with the realization and then he felt angry again.

_That girl._ Who was she to poke her nose into other people's business and act like a stupid goody two-shoes? Hell, he didn't even _know_ her. Meddling people like her were the ones Paul hated the most. She had been _pitying_ him. The thought made him even angrier.

_But, what if she was genuinely trying to help you? After all, you did manage to blow off most of your steam. And who was responsible for that?_

And at that thought, Paul felt guilt wash over him. He had screamed at a complete stranger, an annoying stranger, but still, a stranger nonetheless.

Someone completely blameless for his inner turmoil.

He kicked a stone in his path in frustration.

_And she did save you._

Damn his life. He was a real pathetic _idiot_.

A fool.

A _moron_.

* * *

"Stupid jerk, how _dare_ he? After I save him and all that! And my arms hurt so much now! He was so rough with me!" She sniffed loudly and pouted.

But she stopped when a scary thought came to her mind.

_What if he's still like that? What if he ran away to someplace no one can find him? _

_**What if he tries it again?**_

She gulped. No matter what he had said or done, she couldn't just leave a helpless person like that. Hell, let him yell and kick and scream. She wasn't about to let something like that happen in her knowledge.

She _couldn't_ let it happen.

She sprinted along the length of the deck, ran down the gangplank and into Virbank City, not caring that it was late in the night and that she had left all her stuff in the ferry.

It didn't matter for right now because as far as she was concerned, he was the only important thing on her mind.

* * *

_It wasn't any of his concern,_ he told himself. It was her own damn fault she butted in.

He pushed away the guilt and walked forward, paying no heed to his surroundings or where he was headed. All he knew that he wanted to get away. _Far_ away.

"_Oi, wait up!_" He stopped at the yell and his heart sank.

She had caught up with him.

Why couldn't she just leave him be and carry on with her life? Why was she being such a pain? Why did she have to make this so _difficult?_

But little did he know, she was one tough cookie, as she called it, who didn't know how to back down for things like that.

The truest example of a _fool_.

He kept on walking and tried to ignore her yells and panting and lengthened his strides.

Suddenly a hand caught hold of his shoulder and whirled him around to face the person. There she stood, angry as ever, with that flicker of worry showing in her eyes every other second.

This was unexpected and Paul was definitely taken by surprise. She had run the whole length like an Olympic Marathon runner even with that giant lead he had had and still had had the strength to pull him and make him turn around.

Paul was faintly impressed, but masked it well.

"I… told… you… to… wait…" Dawn wheezed and coughed, doubled over with her palms on her knees now and Paul felt guiltier, but kept up his stony appearance. He exhaled and his brow furrowed in annoyance.

"And I told you to not butt into my business. And I also recall telling you to get lost. But did you do that? No. So why should I listen to _you?_" He retorted coolly, and turned around once again to amble along his path.

"If you really want that…" The conviction in her voice made him stop yet again. Dawn stood up straight with a solemn look on her face, her eyes piercing into him, "If you really want me to not butt into your business and get lost, I will gladly do so." Paul breathed a sigh of a relief and was going to deliver a fine specimen of an insult, but it died in his throat when he heard her complete her sentence.

"_But only if you let me help you get over whatever you are feeling and you promise to keep sane!_"

Paul was beyond shocked at that. He didn't think those would be the words coming from her mouth.

He had never felt this _moved_.

By a stranger nonetheless.

But instead of being grateful, only the worst possible thing came out of Paul's mouth. He couldn't believe his own ears when he roughly grabbed hold of her and screamed in a near-demented pitch: "_Just leave me alone_ _and get the f_-"

_Thwack!_

She couldn't take it any longer and had slapped him right across the face.

Paul's eyes widened and his cheek began swelling and throbbing with pain.

Dawn's fingers trembled and her eyes widened in fear, tears pooling the edges. She looked shocked at what she had done.

"I— I— I'm-" She stumbled over her words, scared at the way he looked at her, her fear now impairing her speech.

She closed her eyes tightly, too frightened to even _move_ as she waited for the worst.

But nothing happened.

She heard a thud and whimpered unconsciously, and then opened one eye to see Paul had fallen onto his knees onto the asphalt, his hand holding his cheek, his hair hiding his expression, which was one of pure disbelief.

"I— I am sorry! I am so sorry! I didn't mean to-" Dawn frantically began stuttering but was cut off by Paul.

"I really needed that. Thank you." He looked up at her and gave her a look full of sincerity.

A look which spoke more than anything else.

"B-but-" She was cut off yet again when Paul lifted a hand to silence her.

"Just leave now, will you? _Please._" He knew he sounded desperate, because he was, but he also knew that he sounded too cold and harsh for the moment, and wanted to avoid further damage to the situation.

Dawn didn't say anything and walked away. She knew she had crossed a line and knew better than to push her luck. But before she was out of his hearing range, she whispered something and broke into a run.

Paul hadn't bothered to look back at her walking figure, instead preferring to stare at the cracks in the dusty asphalt and cradle his cheek, till he heard her. He turned sharply to look at her but by then she had disappeared.

The sincerity in her voice had left him feeling horrible. It stung him more than the reeling pain from his cheek.

_It wasn't your fault,_ he wanted to say. _I should be the one to apologize, not you_.

But these words never made it out of his throat and died there.

He stood up and began walking away in the opposite direction, an expressionless mask now on his face.

* * *

She ran through the streets of Virbank, leaving trails of tears behind in her wake.

She had spoilt everything. _Everything_. And then she—

She gasped as she pictured it again. She was an awful person. A terrible person who couldn't even _try_ and help someone. Instead she had made it worse.

She hadn't meant to though.

If anything happened it would be her fault.

She felt _horrible_.

She stopped in the middle of a lane, roughly rubbing the tears off her face, rubbing her eyes almost raw.

No, it wasn't her fault. The jerk deserved all of it. Why should she beat herself over someone else's mistake and inability to receive help?

Yes, she had done everything in her power to help him. A _stranger_ at that! And yet she was here, crying her eyes out for something which wasn't even her fault.

_She_ was the stupid one.

She slapped her cheeks a couple of times, wiped off the last of the tears and grinned with her old determination. There was no time to waste over feeling upset. She had to get home. She smiled fondly at the thought of her home and then suddenly frowned.

And then she panicked.

_She didn't know where she was!_

In her frustration and sorrow she had run into some part of the city which didn't seem familiar in the least. Even when she had been trailing the guy she hadn't paid attention to her surroundings and had just followed her instincts.

She was lost.

_Horribly_ lost.

She let out a cry of despair, but then tried to steady her breathing. This was no time to panic. She had to stay calm and focus and then she'd be out of here and in the ferry in no time at all.

_Oh why, oh why, oh why did she have to follow the idiot?_

She began rushing to every turn she could find to see if she could spot the ferry but in vain. The fog had come down quite suddenly and she was utterly lost.

At the last by-lane, she crouched down and buried her head into her knees.

_She was never going to get out of this city!_

But before she could even start drowning in her self-pity, she heard footsteps. Startled, she looked up and scrambled onto her feet when she saw a dark shadow coming nearer and nearer towards her.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here? Are you lost, miss?" A boy around her age came forward suddenly out of the fog, looking faintly worried.

Dawn breathed a sigh of relief. So it wasn't any stalker or rapist. Thank goodness for that. She smiled.

"Oh, thank you! I'm just looking for my way back to the-" But she was cut off by the faint scraping of leather against the ground.

"Ah, so you _are_ lost, eh? You poor thing, you look so cold and forlorn, and your eyes are all red," he said gently, looking at her with sympathy.

Dawn suddenly felt a weird chill run up her spine. This couldn't be good.

The sudden glint in his eyes confirmed her suspicions.

"Uhm, on second thought, I just remembered that I have to-" She was cut off yet again by footsteps behind her. Her eyes widened as she turned around sharply.

"_Oooh,_ a lost kitten? Come on doll-face, we'll show you the way back home. It's okay, we wouldn't hurt a fly now, would we?" A new voice spoke up from her right, the person's teeth glinting in the dim street lighting. Dawn gulped. The first guy's lips curled into an evil smile and she shivered.

"No, really! I can go by myself! I just remembered that I know where to go, eheh." But Dawn's pitiful cover-up didn't interest the guys in the slightest.

She slowly backed away and then turned and fled as fast as she could. Even though she could feel the adrenaline pulsing through her, the incidents prior to this had obviously tired her out and she was significantly slowed down.

But the men at her heels made her push her legs even harder as she ran for her life.

Never had she thought she would be in such a predicament. And this was all because of her own stupidity. Oh, how she wanted to smack herself silly!

But now was not the time. She had to outrun them and find her way back to the—

_Oof!_

She had collided hard with something and almost fell onto the ground.

It felt like déjà vu.

But this time, someone caught hold of her arm and pulled her back firmly onto her feet. The sudden jerk made her cry out in pain, but nothing beat the surprise as she looked up at the person who saved her.

_It was him! The purple haired box of angst!_

"What now, woman? Haven't you done enough already?" he snarled at her and ran his fingers through his hair in annoyance.

The guy whose back she had collided with just _had_ to end up being the same guy she had slapped just a while back.

_Great._

But he was still better than those creepers who were bent upon being _helpful_.

Too helpful for her liking. She shuddered.

She fought the sudden urge to push him away and continue running, since the muffled yells of _"She went that way!"_ made her change her mind.

_"There she is!"_ Dawn whirled around to see the—now, _four _—men who had been pursuing her. She gave an inconspicuous cry of fear, but shook herself.

She then proceeded to act on her impulse and glomp the surprised guy with her.

"What the— _ack!_" Paul never would have guessed this was coming. He looked at her with wide eyes as she hugged him tightly and dug her face into his chest and began sobbing loudly.

Everyone sweat-dropped at the sight, including the guy being hugged, who was too shocked to even _speak,_ let alone peel her off of him.

"Oh _darling,_ I'm so glad I found you! I thought I'd lost you _forever!_" She cried harder making Paul freeze.

_Just what in the hell was going on here?_

The four men looked at the scene with incredulous stares and began backing away from the embarrassing thing happening in front of them.

Meanwhile, it took Paul _everything_ to come out of his shock and try to wriggle out of her grasp. Man was she strong in abominable situations like this. He clicked his tongue in annoyance and grimaced.

At that, something clicked in the minds of the four pursuers and they looked grimly, obviously not falling for Dawn's pathetic display, especially when her co-actor was as dumb as they get and even more clueless than they were.

They began advancing on her which made her let out a squeal of fear when she had lifted her head to look at them, and Paul looked at scene in front of him with a hint of surprise on his face, still not getting the scene. But a sudden beseeching look from Dawn, who had then turned to look at him, made everything fall into place.

And even though he didn't want to get involved in such a cheap trick, he obliged, since deep down, he knew he owed her.

And so, he did the first thing that came into his mind.

He picked her up and threw her over his shoulder, something which surprised not only the other guys, but Dawn herself, who didn't expect this in the slightest, and quickly began to make his way back to the ferry.

Paul had wheeled around and began walking in the same direction as before with the creepers staring at the scene, not knowing _what_ to make of all that, or what to even _do_.

They were taken aback. They never expected _that_.

Meanwhile, Paul cracked his first smirk in a while.

_This was revenge._

Dawn blushed and panicked simultaneously, for obvious reasons. She wanted to kick and scream and punch and yell, but before she could act on her instinct, suddenly it all made sense.

So instead of that, she also did the first thing she thought of.

The guys, who were sweat-dropping at the entire thing, suddenly shook their heads and frowned. They were definitely not amused. They made their way to grab hold of Paul and beat the living daylights out of him, but before they could act on that, they saw their worst nightmare ever.

She winked at them, flashed a brilliant smile, licked her lips and stuck out her tongue at one corner before giving them a peace sign.

The lowlifes gulped nervously and shuddered, and then with a yell of, _"Run for your lives!"_ fled back into the foggy by-lanes. They didn't even wait for her to blow them a kiss.

"Huh?" Paul turned back a little when he heard the weird commotion, but only sweat-dropped at the scene. Before he could wonder about it, he was met by the same dazzling sight as Dawn turned and looked up at him.

Paul gulped.

It was _blood-curdling_.

So he did the sanest thing he knew.

He pushed her beanie onto her face and dropped her.

Right onto the hard gangplank of the ferry which they had reached in that time.

It _hurt._

He then proceeded to walk up the gangplank, whistling nonchalantly, with his hands behind his head, ignoring her yell of, _"Hey!"_

The horn blew and the anchor was raised as Dawn jumped onto her feet and ran after the boy, fury in her eyes, a new power in her feet since her running was now fueled by anger, not stupid, _weak,_ adrenaline.

* * *

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**Um, yeah, so this is going to be slightly AU-is, as in, they haven't met before…? Yeah. Sorry I didn't make that clear before, but that was because I myself was in two minds about it. XD And I'm gonna change the chapter names soon. The ones I've thought of are getting boring for me. :P**

**Review for DP cookies, custom-made by Harley, for all of you! (JK!) See you on the- *squints at calendar* -5th~! I better get to work with the future chapters. *ties headband***

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**Edit: Also, I've dropped by today just to update; I barely have any time so I will get back to your PMs later. I'm very sorry for the delay but this week was too hectic and the coming one is even more so.**

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**Dated: 21st September'13**


	4. Implications of a Chore

**Summary: "You changed my life and I changed yours, because when we met sparks flew, flowers bloomed, love blossomed. Forget the IOUs; we were destined to be together, forever and always."**

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**Thank you, **_**GuiltyCrown09**_**, **_**Resacon1990**_**, **_**reppad98**_**, **_**RaveOn-LastYear**_** and **_**malory79080**_** for reviewing. You are all wonderful people. :') I hope you all like this chapter.**

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_**~ d◦e◦s◦t◦i◦n◦y ~**_

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_**~ Chapter 3: Implications of a Chore ~**_

_**.**_

Dawn yawned loudly, dragging it for a good long five seconds before smacking her lips. She sat up and stretched, moaning as she popped the stiff joints out. Her eyelids felt stuck tight to each other and gritty; she could barely open them a crack, and the sunlight pouring in through the portholes was blinding. She scratched her back, still in quite a daze from the happenings of last night.

_Last night._

Her eyes shot open and she looked around frantically, ripping the covers off of her and getting up, trying to remember where she was, her panic increasing with every passing second on the clock. She then noticed a lump in the blankets on the bed next to her, purple hair all over on the pillow, and suddenly everything came to her.

She was on the ferry back home.

She had had a fight with Angsty-guy over there- _which was entirely his fault, by the way_—and he had run off, and she had followed him.

Then that big fiasco happened.

She had slapped him and he told her to get lost.

And she _did_ get lost. _Not like that was anything to be proud of._ She coughed, pink with embarrassment.

Anyway…

And then, creeper alert.

She had narrowly escaped the goons and bumped into the last person she had wanted to see. She scowled at the thought.

Angsty-guy then had helped her back.

_More like, dropped her on her butt._

Anyway, then she had invariably chased him down to their cabin and was so tired that she had collapsed onto her bunk and had instantaneously fallen asleep.

And here she was now, recounting the whole thing to herself.

_Fantastic._

Because of their oh-so-_great_ adventure in the middle of the night, she now was way too stiff and had a pounding headache. Everything _hurt_.

Life was simply _excellent._ Not.

Rubbing her temples to ease the pain, she sat back on her bed and pulled on her covers to her chin and stayed huddled like that for a while, drooling slightly and staring blankly at the wall in front of her, as the seconds ticked past.

It never even occurred to her to check the time.

And so when she finally looked at it, a scream was inevitable.

"_Oh my Arceus, it's past noon!_" she screeched, probably making a million wingulls fly away in fright and giving the other people in the ship a heart-attack. She started fidgeting around, a horrified expression on her face and then—

"For Dialga's sake, will you shut the heck up? Geez…" Paul muttered hoarsely. His head, which had been lifted by a centimeter to snarl at her, fell straight back onto the pillow and he rolled over from his stomach to his side, facing away from her.

Angsty-guy had had a rude awakening and was obviously not in the best of moods.

_Like he ever was._ She rolled her eyes and stuck her tongue out at his purple head.

"Well, so— wait; did you just say 'Dialga'? Are you from Sinnoh too? That's awesome! We're from the same region! Isn't that epic? Isn't it? Isn't it!" Dawn jumped up and down on the bed in excitement while Paul only rolled back onto his stomach, with his pillow now clamped onto his head, obviously annoyed.

"Yeah, now shut up and let me sleep," was the muffled response she got.

"_No! _It's late and you have to get up!" Dawn frowned at his laziness and leapt out of bed, and floundered to his.

"Up, up, _up!_" She yelled loudly, pulling off the pillow roughly from his face and scaring him. She then proceeded to pull off his covers too, earning her an icy glare, but it didn't work on her at all. She gave him a sickly sweet smile instead.

A smile which made his skin crawl.

"Ups-a-daisy now~!" she sang, making Paul cringe visibly and dig his face back into the reclaimed, previously tossed aside pillow to block out the blue obscurity.

"Come on now, Angsty-guy! My voice ain't _that_ bad!" She pouted at him, offended at his actions.

Paul snorted. He was about to give a snide remark but then paused.

"What did you just call me?" he asked, looking up at her in surprise. He had obviously not expected such a—well, _decent_—nickname after all what had happened.

Wait, why was she giving him a nickname in the first place? _That—_

"Well, that's because you never told me your name, Angsty-guy." She frowned and sat down on his bed. "And after everything I told you about myself, you're offended by the nickname? I _have_ to call you _something._ It's only natural." She shrugged like it was no big deal.

Paul stared at her in disbelief. Just what was this woman?

"Besides, you owe me one for saving your life," she said, giving him a devious smirk. Again, he was taken aback by her sudden change in moods, but refrained from saying anything.

But the last comment _did _manage to piss him off.

"I don't _owe_ you _anything,_" he hissed at her, angry that she had forgotten his good deed for her last night.

Okay, not that he did it from the goodness of his heart or something like that, but _still_.

It counted, didn't it?

She pondered over his statement for a while, her chin resting on her palm and elbow on her knee while sitting with her legs crossed outward and frowned.

"Well, I guess you are right there. Sorry!" She straightened her back and scratched her head, giving him a sheepish grin.

He did a double-take. He didn't expect her to agree with him so quickly. But before he could say anything about it, the girl leapt off his bed and knelt beside it, eyes level with his own in his twisted half sitting-half lying position, stuck out her hand and gave him a brilliant smile.

"Well then, let's start again, shall we? My name is Dawn Berlitz. It's a pleasure to meet you. I hope we can be friends." She beamed at him with obvious happiness spilling out of her core.

Paul then looked incredulously at her outstretched hand, which she kept on jerking towards him, indicating that she wanted him to shake it, not knowing what to do since he didn't get what she meant for a while. He then looked at her with a _'Hell-no-not-on-your-life-I'm-not-going-to-do-it'_ look which she ignored and she impatiently grabbed his hand, making him lose his balance from his awkward position and fall back onto the bed facedown, and shook it after the few seconds of polite waiting.

"I'm Paul. Paul Carter. It sure as hell isn't a pleasure to meet you, and no, I don't want that to happen for a million years," he mumbled into his pillow, refusing to look at her.

But she only smiled wider if that was even possible. He pushed himself up again with his other arm.

He felt the softness and warmth of her hand, and smiled a little. But he quickly dropped her hand after a few seconds and scowled at her, when he realized what he was doing.

"Well, _Paul,_ let's be the best-est friends _ever!_" She bounced back onto his bed, earning her a surprised yell from him.

"No," was the short response from him after he managed to regain his dignity after all that.

But she kept smiling.

That is, until she remembered her hair.

"_Oh freaking Arceus,_ _my hair! Atrocious!_"

Paul now seriously had thoughts about arranging a funeral for his hearing. But he promptly clamped the pillow on his head and went back to sleep.

* * *

It was half-past one by the time they were both up and ready, and the _sort-of-_companionable silence was finally broken by the rumbling of tummies.

"Aw, I'm _hu-n-gry!_" Dawn moaned, stretching out each syllable of the word obnoxiously. Paul didn't say a word but sat cross-legged on his bed, his palm supporting his chin, his elbows balanced on his knees, staring out of the porthole with a faraway look in his eyes, apparently deep in thought.

"Hey Paul! Let's go get some lunch! _Pwease?_" She begged, tugging his left arm hard and making him fall onto his side in a heap.

"Geez, you're so annoying. Why don't you just go get yourself some food if you're that _damn_ hungry?" he snarled angrily, sitting up again and giving her his best glare.

"But, aren't you hungry too?" she asked childishly, nudging him gently. She just didn't know when to quit.

"No." And he refused to give more of an explanation.

Well, it wasn't really required since at that very instant, a _loud_ rumble was heard from in between them.

Dawn giggled.

"Oh, really now? I don't think your stomach agrees to that." Her attempts to cover up her laughter failed miserably and she was presented with another lovely specimen of a scowl.

"Shut up," was the no-nonsense robotic response from him.

But he got up, slipped on his shoes and walked to the door, and all the while Dawn stared at him in amazement, clearly not having expected him to go along with her wishes so easily.

But then again, Paul was the impatient type, as he stood there and tapped his foot in annoyance, startling her slightly.

"Well then, aren't you coming already? Or do you want to be there in time for dinner instead?" he snapped, turning his head slightly to the right to look at her from the corner of his eye.

Dawn smiled warmly and bounded off the bed, looping her arm into his unsuspecting one.

"Yep, let's go!" And with that she dragged him out onto the deck.

_Just what did he get himself into?_

* * *

"Mmm, these meatballs are like, the _bomb_," Dawn spoke while chewing her food simultaneously. Paul threw her one last furtive look of disgust and went back to staring at his plate, having lost his appetite.

He had wanted to thank her for everything and ask her why she was such a busy-body, but her atrocious table manners made him feel sick to the gut.

And to top that, he didn't know where to even _begin._

Pathetic, he was.

_But most of all, he had wanted to apologize._

The thought pulsed in his head, giving him a headache. Argh, why couldn't he just be man enough and say something?

Ridiculous, he was.

Come on, he could do it. He had thrashed an umpteen number of trainers, won many tournaments, then what could this small fry possibly do to him?

Nothing.

Yeah, exactly.

_Nothing._

He took in a deep breath and looked up, now fully prepared, but the scraping of the chair from the other end made him blink rapidly in surprise.

"Thanks for the food!" she said, wiping her mouth on a paper napkin before burping loudly. "Man, am I stuffed. And I ate like never before. Probably had something to do with last night, eh?" She laughed heartily and winked, the wink earning them a few more embarrassed glances from the other diners.

Like they weren't already out of place there. Paul groaned and felt like smashing his head repeatedly on table. He himself understood the implications her statement could have made- which it _did_- and looked down back into his plate, grimacing, positively _overcome_ with embarrassment.

This was going to be one _long_ day.

* * *

She had pulled him along out of the cafeteria and onto the deck and by the railings, the very same railings from last night, and he felt his throat go dry, remembering the incidents from yesterday.

Dawn on the other hand had a big smile on her face and she leant on the railings and beckoned him over, her blue hair flying behind her.

She didn't have any annoying beanie or skirt to hold on to today since she had forgotten her beanie and had opted for shorts today. _A good choice,_ she mused, pulling her hair over one shoulder and running her fingers through it.

Paul slowly walked up to her and took the same stance beside her, closing his eyes as the breeze went through his hair.

"Isn't this nice?" Dawn sighed, a small smile on her face now. She was thankful that it was warm and that the side of the deck where they were was well shaded. She snuck a worried peek at him from the corner of her eyes and was slightly surprised to see him actually enjoying the breeze. She was half scared that it might bring back those painful memories or what-not of his from last night, but looking at his now tranquil face, her mind was put to ease and she breathed easy. She turned back to look at the different water pokémon swimming in the water, their antics causing water to spray onto them. She laughed at it all and felt content.

For once, it was a silence she was comfortable in and she didn't need an excuse to talk herself out of it.

"Umm…"

At that, Dawn was brought out of her trance at that and she looked at Paul, who was now looking at her, and arched an eyebrow in surprise.

Something was up.

"So…" Dawn started, racking her brains for a topic to converse on. It was rare for her to be at a loss for words since she _always_ had something to speak about.

But she also didn't want a repeat of last night and wanted him to be at ease, since this _was_ where the incidents from last night had occurred.

Even though she was a blabbermouth, it wasn't like she _couldn't_ be considerate.

Paul then coughed to get her attention, a vein now pulsing in his forehead. He looked slightly annoyed at her behavior and she decided that playing dumb also wouldn't get her out of this, so she just nodded at him.

"Well, you being quiet is a first," he grunted. Dawn was about to retort angrily when he put up a hand to silence her.

She did as she was told and turned back to face the scenery in front of her, just like Paul. Silence enveloped both of them once more as Paul struggled to find a good choice of words.

And at the same time, her mind was racing with the different possibilities of this conversation.

_Irrational and illogical possibilities, that is._

She stifled a giggle.

"I'm sorry."

Dawn turned around completely in surprise and shock to look at him still staring a distant wailord, his hair flying with the wind, acting like a curtain for his face.

"I'm sorry for yesterday. I had no right to say all those things to you. And I definitely didn't have to be so violent and crazy. I'm sorry." He turned to look at her, eyes filled with sincerity.

He was genuinely apologetic and had struggled to say the right words. Dawn was touched. She smiled warmly.

"It's okay, silly!" She glomped his side from behind, her chin on his shoulder and arms looped around as she almost hung onto him, a big grin plastered on her face. He turned back to look her with a _'Really?'_ look, and her smile just grew wider, showing her pearly whites now.

"Of course! Everything is forgiven! Except," she then looked at Paul with a serious expression, and Paul who had just begun to heave a sigh of relief, tensed up, clearly not having expected that, "I can't really forgive you for the _you-know-what_." She expertly detached herself from him and brought her hands to her hips, scowling at him.

Paul blinked at her and looked blankly, evidently not getting what she meant. Confused as he was by her antics, he couldn't even begin to comprehend what she meant, but it suddenly hit him.

He smacked his forehead. She had meant _that._ Good grief.

"I wasn't trying any funny stuff, you idiot," Paul snapped at her in annoyance, angry that she was still going on about that. He exhaled loudly, trying to calm himself down, but she just made him so _frustrated._

He couldn't _stand _it.

"But-" Dawn was cut off by Paul, who was now exasperated.

_Was she really that dumb?_

"It wasn't trying to do any of that. My hand slipped on these railings is all. Don't go assuming stuff, you little idiot!" Paul's furious tirade rendered her speechless for a few seconds, her eyes now as big as saucers.

"So you're telling me-"

"_Yes!_ It wasn't like that at all. Happy?" Paul was by then reaching boiling point, he was just that _infuriated_. Why did he have to even start this conversation again?

But Dawn's blank look made him even more annoyed and a little nervous.

_This is hopeless._

He dragged his face down with his hand, letting out a sigh. He prepared himself to say something, but didn't need to since this time, _he_ was cut off by Dawn.

"I am so sorry!" She bowed repeatedly, a huge blush on her face now. "This is all my fault! I don't even know what I was thinking! But you were looking so lost and then you had that look in your eyes and then you leant a bit too far and then I thought that-"

"I-It's alright. You don't need to apologize for that," Paul almost stuttered, taken aback at her response.

This just wasn't going too well now, was it? _Brilliant._

"B-but, I really shouldn't have jumped onto the point and assumed and-" Dawn was becoming more and more flustered by the second and it felt like she didn't even hear Paul's harried interruption.

And being the impatient person he was, he did the only sensible thing which came to his mind.

He grabbed hold of her shoulders and shook her slightly (more like rattled her), to make her get out of her frenzied nonsense, glaring daggers at her, till she was silenced.

She began whimpering, and Paul sighed. His arms fell back to his sides and he looked down at their feet, his hair covering his face.

"See, listen. You don't have to apologize anymore. None of it was your fault. Okay, granted that you really didn't have to annoy me the way you did, but everything still worked out in the end. I'm not mad anymore, and in fact, you kind of, maybe, _did_ help me in a way, so I just wanted to apologize and say thank you. That's all." Paul stared at the wooden planks of the deck throughout the entire speech, not sure whether he should look up or not.

But suddenly he felt arms around him and was surprised to see that she was hugging him, her big smile back onto her face.

"I forgive you." She beamed at him and her eyes danced with happiness. Paul was overcome by the glee she radiated and felt a bit stifled by it all. He smiled slightly, and Dawn's eyes widened in surprise and her mouth fell open in the comical O-shape.

"You have dimples! _Ohmiarceus_, _that's so_ _cute~!_" She was beginning to suffocate him and so he prized her off of him.

"_Don't_ touch me," he snarled, but it had no effect because she was busy trying to poke his cheeks, her eyes sparkling.

"But you have dimples! That's like, the cutest thing _ever!_" Dawn's _'epic' _monologue sessions had started. "You know I've always wanted to have dimples, but _no_, I can't have them. I say, phooey! It's just not fair. Even my best friend Leona has them and it makes me so mad. And you know what-"

Paul sighed. It certainly was going to be a long, _long_ day.

But he felt a bit lighter. It was as if a heavy weight had been lifted and he could breathe easy and deeply.

It no longer took him an effort to do so.

And even though the whole thing had actually ended up being accidental, since Paul wasn't _stupid_ to have actually done something like that, inside he was kind of glad that it all had happened.

Maybe, just maybe, this ferry ride wouldn't be that much of a wrong choice anymore.

But about it being a chore— Paul glanced at her. She was now in full swing and completely into her rant. He smirked and looked up into the sky at the flying wingulls overhead.

Well, let's just say that only time could really tell that.

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**Review for a Dawn-bearhug! Or a Paul-awkhug. Whichever. (Dawn is such a hug-gy person here! XD)**

**Ugh, I'm so busy-busy. Me no likey! :'( I also have a few out-of-town projects so the update schedule can get a little bit shaky. But I shall try my best to keep to it.**

**See you on the 19th, hopefully! *stocks you up with cookies for till then***

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**Chapter names have been changed~! :D They're still stupid though. ._.**

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**Dated: 5th October'13**


	5. Just Fine, Just Dandy

**Summary****: "You changed my life and I changed yours, because when we met sparks flew, flowers bloomed, love blossomed. Forget the IOUs; we were destined to be together, forever and always."**

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**Thanks to **_**Ju5t An0th3r H3d63h06**_**,**_** GuiltyCrown09 **_**and**_** malory79080**_** for reviewing. :')**

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**_._**

**_~ d◦e◦s◦t◦i◦n◦y ~_**

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_**~ Chapter 4: Just Fine, Just Dandy ~**_

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"Wait, so let me get this straight: what you mean to say is that you're actually a_ member _of the_ Elite Four_?"

It was late in the evening and they had tucked in for an early night in their cabin. Well, at least that _was_ his idea. Dawn merely went along with the promise of getting to dissect his life.

Paul shuffled uncomfortably under her curious stare, cursing himself for even opening his mouth. The gleaming eyes unnerved him. He tried to distract himself by pouring himself a glass of water from a nearby jug, but he knew she wouldn't let it go that easily.

_Why_ did this topic even come up again? He blew his bangs out of his face and scowled unhappily at his reflection in the glass.

"No. I'm not officially part of the Elite Four yet but-" And, cue being cut off unceremoniously.

"But _why?_" Dawn drew out the syllables in a screechy level-up to being whiny and looked confused. She evidently didn't get it. Paul pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance, making her pout. He made his way to the bed slowly and sat down next to her sprawled self with a _thump_. He set down the glass on the side table and turned to give her an exasperated look while she just smiled back at him.

"_Will_ you just let me finish? Geez…" Talking with this annoying girl was more troublesome than he thought it could ever be. He gritted his teeth but complied to her actions of tugging his sleeves and rattling him like a puppet.

Wait— why was she on _his _bed again?

…Never mind that now.

"The League didn't want to replace Bertha just yet. They wanted her to retire in dignity and what-not and give her a good send-off and all that shit. Plus she wanted to see if I was 'good enough' and all that blah-blah, so I was on a probationary period-"

"Which is why you were with Cynthia- oh, I get it now!" And once again, _hello_ excited interruption.

Understanding had dawned on her and she looked at him excitedly. He snorted inwardly at the lame pun. He definitely was losing it. Her stupidity must be rubbing off on him.

"Oh Mesprit_, I know a celebrity_!" she squealed in the next second and made him slap his palms over his ears. But it didn't affect her in the slightest.

"Well, more like _to-be_ celebrity, but _still!_" She shrugged at the thought but couldn't help it and began bouncing on the bed like an excited five year old.

Paul let out a sigh and lay back comfortably at the head of his bed, having adjusted his pillow behind him. Even with the ruckus and the fact that he had done enough talking for a few _life_times— he was _deathly_ tired for Giratina's sake— he was strangely getting used to it all.

Yeah, he was totally going nuts.

_Bonkers._

But before he could be allowed to get back into his comfort zone of complete and utter silence, Dawn broke the spell.

Again.

She _still_ couldn't contain her curiousness.

"But how come you were in Unova then, hm?" She peered at him, inching closer and closer, the shine in her blue orbs almost blinding him.

Paul's throat went dry.

The flashback of the entire time now fell onto him like boulders and he felt queasy. But it wasn't like it had disappeared _completely_; it was just that he didn't know how to convincingly word it out of his system.

He wasn't used to this sort of a… _thing_. This talking, these _feelings_… it was alien to him. For someone who preferred to keep to himself, this was too much of a change to stomach.

However, he did know that no one could isolate themselves completely. Everyone needed _someone_. And nothing could be bottled up forever.

_Even stupid, pointless things._

Yeah. He wasn't a sore loser now, was he? No. He just had to get over it, learn from his mistakes and be better the next time, that's all.

He wasn't known as a brilliant tactician for nothing. He smirked inwardly at that and felt relaxed.

Dawn meanwhile, tilted her head innocently, waiting for a response, but she was given none.

"Paul…?"

A touch on his shoulder and he snapped back into reality and looked at her confusedly. He then remembered that she was waiting for him to speak and drew in a deep breath.

He was ready to answer her, he decided. _It was better than having his brother egg him on to spew everything out to him._ He snorted again.

"Like I told you, I was there on a probationary period, and Cynthia invited me to Undella Town. She probably wanted to get me away from the paparazzi in Sinnoh, since it became a huge thing for some stupid Arceusforsaken reason, but at the same time, she wanted me to know how to combat them best, which is why I was scheduled for a press meeting there." _Though I have no idea what happened to it, _he muttered under his breath.

"Pardon?" Dawn thankfully didn't catch the rest of his statement since she was busy trying to unwrap a lollipop, her tongue slightly out as she concentrated hard on ripping the plastic wrapping off carefully. Paul coughed.

"I bumped into Alder and…" Paul paused, revaluating whether he should really speak of it or not.

"And then…?" Dawn paused to look up at him and her innocent, curious gaze made him want to gulp hard, yet still managed to give him the confidence to spill out his guts.

Not really, but you get what he means.

"I lost. Pretty badly in my opinion, might I add, and then just left." He ignored her dry comment of, _'Why am I not surprised?'_ and continued to tell her of how he ended up in Castelia.

He might as well as close the circle he had started and bring the chapter to an end.

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"Man, aren't you one messed up guy…" Dawn sniggered as Paul hung his head in shame. She then hooted with laughter and rolled off the bed, landing on the floor with a _thud_.

He just grunted and turned to look at the wall with fake interest. Oh, just what he would give to have his silence…

But Dawn wasn't having any of that. She swiftly got up, dusted herself, sat down straight and shifting the lollipop to her other cheek, she took a deep breath and Paul could just _feel_ the nice, _long,_ moral lecture coming.

"Like, you're such an idiot, you know that? You lose one battle and you think your world is over. Geez Paul, I think that's just silly. And-"

"I don't need _you_ to tell me that, nosey," Paul interjected snarkily, sparing the plastic sticking out of her mouth a disdainful look.

"_I'm not nosey!_" Dawn screeched, almost spitting the lollipop out, inching him dangerously towards deafness.

_Ah, bliss._

Not really.

Paul didn't think he was ready to be deaf any time soon, but this talk-a-thon could change a few things, no doubt.

"You are. Why are you so _damn _bloody _curious_ about all this when it's obviously none of your business?" Finally. He had been waiting for an opportunity to at least get a little insight into her character, albeit in a roundabout, indirect, slightly unrelated, _Paul_ way.

"Well…" Dawn was fumbling for words and left an annoyed Paul hanging while she grappled her thoughts and sucked hard on the candy. She wasn't used to being questioned herself and she found herself caught off-guard by that. It was unexpected and even he knew that. He smirked.

"See?" Paul said, with finality. He crossed his arms and gave her a look which screamed, _'I-told-you-so'_.

He then ran a hand through his hair and slightly slumped into his pillow, his head hanging low as he rubbed his neck.

He felt a bit stiff and worn out, even though he had done practically next to nothing that day. Well, he could do with some good sleep. He popped his wrists, stretched his arms out front and yawned.

It certainly had been a long day, just not as long as the previous one.

He sighed.

"It's because I know how it feels to lose like that."

Paul looked up at Dawn with surprise. She had caught him off-guard with her words, and he was speechless as she stared into his dark eyes. He had expected her to stay silent while he mocked her, but it was like she had gone into a trance, her sticky lollipop in her hand as she waved it around animatedly for emphasis, slightly breaking the ethereal moment there, but not quite waning it. In fact, he didn't even pay attention to it.

He was that _drawn_.

"When you know you are supposed to win, a-and it just, it just, like, _ends_ there. It just ends there and suddenly you feel like everything was in vain and it all, like, just ended for you. Like there is nothing left. I know how it feels and I know how _you_ feel but-"

"_Room service!_"

The door had been rapped at loudly, startling both of them as they jumped in fright and surprise. Neither noticed the difference in distance between them before and after, nor did they bother.

Proximity was not something they really paid attention to, because there was nothing to it.

Nothing at all.

Dawn was the first to recover from the shock and she turned towards the door, leaving Paul to stare blankly at her blue head.

"Coming~!" She quickly bounded off the bed and wrenched open the door, patting her hair down before giving a bright smile to the nervous sailor, the candy still in her mouth.

"Um…" The poor soul didn't know _what_ to say; to say he _recognized_ them was an understatement.

This had been, by far, the worst trip _ever_ to have been the part-time head waiter, and even the slightly fatter pay-check which awaited him month-end didn't make him feel any better.

"Oh, thank you so much for bringing our supper, mister!" Dawn said happily, pulling out the candy from her mouth with a sickening _pop, _oblivious to the fellow's supposed predicament, "This stupid guy over here didn't want to come down to the cafeteria tonight, the lazy bum." She pointed the lollipop towards Paul.

"So we had to trouble you and make you come all the way, even though you're hecka late, just _look_ at the time; you're such a Late-Kate! Or even Late-Nate! _Geddit? _Haha, I hope your name isn't Nate, or even Kate for that matter, but then again, it isn't, right? Oh, and-"

But as soon as she had taken hold of the trays, he quickly scrambled away before his face burst from all the color accumulating. Dawn scratched her head in confusion at the sight. She stuck the candy back in her mouth, kicked the door shut and frowned.

"I wonder what all that was about—oh goody! It's steak! I absolutely _love _steak! Once, when I was little, during New Year's Eve, this friend of mine, he-"

Paul sighed and slapped a palm to his face. Maybe someday he'd sit her down and explain everything to her.

_But, not now,_ he decided, looking at his roommate positively _gleaming _with the happiness because of the food trays in front of her and crunching up her candy quickly so as to get started on her meal. Paul rolled his eyes and snatched one of them to have her pout at him.

"You _meanie_! You could just ask, you know. And _I_ wanted to _choooose_," she whined.

Paul ignored her and started wolfing down his food— he didn't know talking could make one so _hungry-_- though unlike how Dawn had been at lunch.

Speaking of which, it had been the exact reason why he had had someone come and give it here. He didn't think he could face the other people on this ferry any more. He grimaced at the memory from a few hours ago.

Dawn sniffed and then began stabbing viciously at her own tray, stuffing in little portions into her mouth every now and then, glaring at Paul when he looked at her questioningly. His annoyance finally bubbled over.

"Stop killing the steak, you dummy." Dawn's hand froze midair as it hung over her plate stupidly. She scowled and landed the fork into it, but not as forceful as before, and continued to chew quietly. Paul smirked.

"So you actually _can_ eat normally. Good to see you really _do_ know your table manners," Paul commented dryly, ignoring her outburst of _"Hey!"_

He needed to get back at her in _some _way.

"You big, _fat_ meanie, I'll have you know that I'm positively awesome. And an imbecile such as you can _never_ come up to _me_!" She turned her nose up at him haughtily, and then looked away.

But earning no reaction from him made her even more irritated. She scowled and stabbed at her steak again.

_Great. This is becoming an annoyance._ Paul racked his brains to say something to rectify the situation, but was able to come up with zero results.

Except-

"So then, we're on the way to Sinnoh?" Paul knew he had succeeded, since the mere mention of her home region lit up her eyes and she beamed with happiness.

What Paul didn't notice was that her face fell for a second, but it was almost imperceptible as it quickly changed into a gleeful one, her eyes sparkling. It was in that split second and his sharp eyes didn't quite make the catch.

"_Home_," Dawn murmured, lost in thought, slumped over her tray. In fact, she was so out of it that even Paul waving his hand at least a million times in front of her face wasn't enough to snap her out of it. So he did the next best thing.

"_OW!_" Bingo.

Dawn straightened up quickly, clutching her forehead, her eyes all scrunched up. Paul had flicked her forehead back, albeit gently, but the shock was enough to make her moan in pain.

"Tch, you're a wuss if you even felt that," Paul said snidely, annoyed at her reaction to it. It wasn't like he'd made a bloody hole in her head or something. Stupid girl.

He looked away from her, ignoring her muttering and mumbling about how mean he was and suddenly stopped.

They were headed to Sinnoh.

Man, he was in big trouble.

Cynthia would _kill_ him.

First, he just up and went onto a stupid walking _tour_ around the idiotic region, and then this.

He was dead meat if he didn't do something about it.

He slapped a palm onto his sweating forehead and groaned. What an idiot he was. He should have known where this stupid boat was headed- which he _did _in a way, but then again, since when was his sub-conscience helpful?— and done something about it.

"Are you okay? You look queasy. Had too much steak? Haha, _see_! That's what you get for being greedy!" Dawn jeered, giving him an evil smile, having already scarfed down the rest of her food.

_What the heck? How did 'greediness' of all things come into the picture?_

She definitely had a screw or two loose.

He bet on them not existing, actually.

Anyway, back to the concerned topic: _what now? _He couldn't go back home because he'd be mobbed by his brother, or the League idiots, or the _media,_ and he couldn't really go anywhere else unless-

"Just come home," Dawn said suddenly. Paul jumped at that, visibly startled.

"H-huh?" Damn that stutter. Stupid voice. Stupid him. Stupid _everything_.

She exhaled and repeated her offer again, patiently: "I said: you could just come home with me for the time being till everything simmers down."

Paul didn't want to acknowledge the fact that she actually had a point, but he had to agree that that made a bit of sense, although he wasn't completely convinced either.

"You could contact Cynthia, make up and all that, and then do as you please," she continued, eyeing him curiously. She found his expressions hilarious, but kept her trap shut, knowing that he was taking this seriously.

He still _hated_ the implications he got from her speaking. _How_ did she always manage to do that?

Not that he was desperate to know, but _still_.

Make up? Really? _Really?_

"Everything will be _just_ fine," she added, in her best preacher voice, earning a faint smirk from him.

_Victory!_

She cheered inwardly, happy to see that he looked visibly relaxed again. It probably was a big deal to him, and she would never completely understand it, but if she managed to even help him a little, that was all she cared about.

Meanwhile, Paul gave the idea little thought. In fact, nothing she had said had really registered in detail or that well in his head since he himself was weighing out his options and making his plans.

He knew that he knew Sinnoh like the back of his hand and that slipping out and going anywhere would be a piece of cake and none would be the wiser. He could just loiter around the quieter towns till everything blew over, and everything would be just fine.

"Just _dandy_," he drawled in response, giving her an unimpressed look. The plan had many flaws, but it was the best he had at the moment.

"Then it's settled! You're coming home! Oh sweet Mesprit, my mom will be so happy! She absolutely _loves_ visitors! She might even bake her special double chocolate chip cookies!" Dawn was ecstatic, and it showed brilliantly. Paul's eyes widened and he looked bewildered.

"Wait, _what_? I never said anything about-" But that was all he managed to splutter before it was drowned in another excited rush of running _Dawn_ commentary.

"Those cookies are the most heavenly things in this world, you know that? Man, you are lucky; you'll be getting to _taste_ them. It's a rare delicacy, you know! Even _I_ barely get to eat them! Mom _never_ makes them on a regular basis. Says the 'specialness' would go out of it. But I don't agree! I could just _live_ on them my whole life and never grow tired of them! And she'll be so excited that I know a celebrity- but wait, I probably shouldn't tell her right away, right? I mean, I know she'll keep your _secret_ for sure till everything blows over, but then again, she _can_ be a bit of a gossip—oh dear, I shouldn't be saying this like that, but it _is_ a fact that once she-"

Paul was in such a daze that he just slumped over in defeat. The girl just spouted nonsense _constantly_, _endlessly_, without a ruddy break. No stopping, whatsoever.

Just what did he get himself into?

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After the giant chain-rush of gushing about practically nothing, she had tired herself out and had passed out on his bed.

She had probably been more tired than she let on. Well, it was natural, since she wasn't really an Energizer Bunny or something; she was also just _human_.

Paul snorted. With the way she bounced around like a lunatic, she was the very definition of _alien_ to him.

Well, sort of.

He shook his head wearily at that and dragged himself off the bed, at a sickeningly slow speed. It was like his butt was stuck to the bed; he felt_ that_ tired all of a sudden.

After quite a bit of swearing, he finally managed to detach himself from the bed. He stood up straight and stretched, a big yawn escaping his lips. He ran a hand through his hair and looked down at the foreign object on his bed. The only coherent thought which came into his mind was: _It was complete déjà vu._

Except this time he just wanted to sleep because he was tired. And he couldn't really run out when in the middle of the sea, or in his pajamas.

He sighed.

He pulled a curved arm from under her and straightened it, and then pulled her legs out straight. He put his covers over her and stuffed the pillow under her head. He then straightened up and scratched his stomach under his grey pullover, again yawning loudly.

It really was late.

He rubbed his eyes and again looked down at what used to be _his_ bed. He then crouched down beside it— literally _flopped_ down onto his haunches from all the exhaustion- and just blankly stared at her sleeping figure.

The even rise and fall.

The tiny pout.

The curled up lashes.

It was like time had frozen and his gaze had been fixed.

He then shook his head roughly and stood up. A little _too_ quickly for his liking, since the blood came rushing back to his legs and he stumbled and almost fell into the side table, making the previously set glass wobble dangerously. Grimacing at his unsteadiness, and after throwing a furtive look at the glass to stop shaking, he shuffled over to her bed and landed facedown in it with a loud _thunk_.

Forget talking, who knew just _listening_ could also be so _exhausting_? He turned his head towards the same side table, stretched out an arm and reached for the clock, tilting it to face him.

_2:34 am_

Well then, tomorrow was going to be another late start, he mused. He set the clock back and rolled over to face the other side, pulling her covers over his head, and curling into a partial ball, _willing_ sleep to come. He scowled and punched her lumpy pillow into a more comfortable shape, making a mental note to tie her down to her own bed next time.

His sleep schedule was really going wacko. And to top it off, they'd be at their home region in just a few hours.

_Twinleaf Town._

The thought made him purse his lips and wonder about the coming days.

_It was going to be a real pain._

But his lips curled into the smallest of small smiles before he finally let himself into the arms of sleep.

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**Ah, this update was harder to churn out because real life is choking me. **_**Literally. **_**I shall probably have to start skipping alternate weeks too. :'(**

**You may think of this as a filler chapter, but there's a bit of foreshadowing and a lot of implications for the future chapters in here. :)**

**Review for Johanna's mouth-watering, scrumptilicious, gooey centered, double chocolate cookies. **

…**Mmm, makes me hungry. Damn it all.**

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**Dated: 19th October'13.**


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